Since their 2009 debut, Dead Hooker in a Trunk, Jen and Sylvia Soska have been consistently making genre films that push boundaries. Whether that’s in what they show on screen, or the stories that they dare to tell, the pair have gained a reputation for the beautifully bizarre. This is a trend that continues with their latest offering, On the Edge.
Following in the footsteps of American Mary, On the Edge once again seeks to challenge audience perceptions of a misjudged portion of society. In American Mary it was the body-mod community, the directing duo showcasing that these people were not the sick freaks that society viewed them to be. For On the Edge they turn their attention to both sex workers and kink culture. Those that work within the framework of adult entertainment, be that on film or in real life, are commonly perceived as misfits. Similarly, those that enjoy or gain release from BDSM practices are viewed as deviants. On the Edge proves that this culture is much more than that. Set within the confines of a thirty-six hour dominatrix session, On the Edge explores BDSM as a form of therapy, an angle most people will have overlooked.
The Soska Sisters’ support and respect for sex workers is immediately clear. For leading man Peter, a family man who works with dominatrix Mistress Santana, the pair cast Aramis Sartorio. That name might not be too familiar, but Sartorio’s alias, Tommy Pistol, will no doubt stir some recognition. As Pistol, Sartorio has spent the best part of the last eighteen years working within the adult entertainment scene. He has appeared in films such as Evil Head, as well as performing on kinkculture.com. It’s a bold choice to cast Sartorio, but there really is no other actor that could have played Peter. Sartorio’s unique experience within the industry and culture makes him the perfect actor and collaborator for the Soskas on this project. Opposite him as Mistress Santana is Jen Soska herself. Soska is certified as a dominatrix; her training comes in handy as Mistress Santana dishes out the punishment.
Whereas Sartorio has a reputation as a dom from his website performances, in On the Edge he switches sides. Peter is a meek ghost of a man. The audience isn’t privy to too many details about him before he encounters Mistress Santana. There’s a quick snapshot of family life in which it is evident that he is a source of frustration for both his wife Claire (Sylvia Soska), and his twin daughters Chloe (Alanna Finn-Morris) and Tori (Brianne Finn-Morris). From here he journeys to a nondescript hotel from which Mistress Santana is operating.
It’s important to note that the location is not what one usually thinks of when they hear the word dominatrix. Films and television have constantly pushed the notion that this is a seedy business and therefore the locations where they conduct their sessions are typically a little grubby in appearance. In On the Edge, it is an everyday hotel; it could be anywhere. The room itself is the same generic hotel room copied thousands of times across the globe. The only point of difference is that the Soskas have given the set dressing their personal touch and so paintings by artists such as Clive Barker adorn the wall, which act as an early indicator for the strangeness that is to come…
As their session continues, Mistress Santana becomes more aggressive. That’s not to say that she starts the session passively, far from it. Mistress Santana’s first techniques are sure to make the men in the audience cross their legs. As their time together progresses, Mistress Santana becomes cruel and her tactics turn more to psychological warfare. Her menace and malice torments Peter to the point where he believes her to be something more than a woman. These thoughts and feelings happen almost exactly at the midpoint of the film and occur during an excellent extended strobe laden scene. Mistress Santana begins to regale Peter with musings about Goddesses; she appears to morph and distort. Accompanied by flashing reds and blues, the whole sequence is intense and disorientating. The viewer is placed firmly inside Peter’s head and their own grasp on what is and isn’t real also starts to be questioned.
From this moment onward, On the Edge becomes a hallucinatory nightmare with strange visions waiting behind every door. The audience is plunged straight into Peter’s mind and the journey through his psyche is a complex and often uncomfortable one. Everything has been delicately constructed, and much like a house of cards, there is the sensation that Peter’s consciousness could collapse at any second. It is stressful, but also beautiful to watch. The Soskas’ message of the session being therapeutic shines through.
The interplay between Sartorio and Soska as Peter and Mistress Santana is immaculate. Their dynamic is tone perfect, and each character is given space to grow and demonstrate other aspects of their personas. Mistress Santana is afforded moments of kindness (though not necessarily toward Peter), Soska proving she’s capable of more than just shouting and brandishing a whip. As Peter, Sartorio has to access some incredibly intense emotional trauma and his performance is utterly compelling. There is a sequence during which Peter first starts to break that is heartbreaking to watch as the actor pours his heart into his performance. It provides the first real instance of calm and his tears firmly solidify the connection between viewer and protagonist.
On the Edge is the third original feature from the Soskas and once more they have created something that is uniquely them. In many ways, On the Edge feels like it is the middle of a Venn diagram, located between American Mary and Dead Hooker in a Trunk in terms of its juxtaposition of the emotional levity and insane spaces it enters into. This position means that On the Edge is sure to be a hit with fans of their previous work. A bold and beautiful exploration of a taboo industry, On the Edge once again demonstrates that empathy is the Soska Sisters’ cinematic superpower.
On the Edge
Summary
A bold, confronting, but also beautiful and haunting portrayal of one man’s journey to face the ghosts of his past. Another compelling original movie from the Soska Sisters, On the Edge is also gifted a stunning lead performance from Aramis Sartorio who pours his literal heart and soul into the film.
On the Edge was reviewed at FrightFest Halloween 2022.
